Ireland Travel Stories
A few Irish suprises in Cork, Ireland
 The drive from Kilkenny southwards to Cork was seen between heavy eyelids and swift awakenings from my nap. I glanced at Ed a couple of times and I could see he was enjoying his in-car slumber as well. It was discouraging to finally wake up and see that neither the rain nor the glum skies had yielded in their duties. Cork was just as rain-drenched as Kilkenny had been.
We were greeted in the outskirts of the city of Cork by the grand River Lee, whose banks held factories and ports where small ships were discharging their cargo. The city seemed to be napping as we drove through its steep streets upwards in search for Shiela’s Hostel. A little more run down than I expected, Cork held a charm that was exceptionally Irish yet I couldn’t pinpoint why. Maybe it was the dirty pubs where people gathered outside with their pints for a smoke, or the townhouses with old garden furniture and withering plants, or the tired streets with their broken pavements and narrow walkways.
Since Cork is the home of Murphy’s brewery, you could catch a glimpse of monumental pints of Murphy’s everywhere you looked: on sides of buildings, on street walls, and proudly above every entrance of every pub, bar or restaurant.
The city seemed to be divided in two by the River Lee that runs through it. On the north side was the residential area on the slope of a steep hill, crossed by stilled streets and large old houses, while the south side of the river held the main street lined with shops, hip boutiques, restaurants, and dark alleys where trendy bars and pubs hid away from the bustle of cars and shoppers. Different colored light bulbs were hung up as garlands from one wall to the next, candles on the tables and soft traditional music could be heard playing in every corner of the South bank.
 We found our hostel, a quiet townhouse on the north side of the river where old iron sewing machines had been turned to bar tables, and the old wooden staircase creaked and croaked on every step. We got a private room with an ensuite bathroom which was smaller than expected, but nonetheless clean. After freshening up we met downstairs with David and Lucy for a walk around Cork and, hopefully, dinner and a pint.
One thing you must keep in mind if you ever go to Ireland: it’s expensive. And Cork being the second largest city in Ireland was also expensive. After a brief walking tour of the Cork’s centre and a few of her churches, we searched for a reasonably priced pub for a quick dinner and beer. Not only were the prices astronomical but every pub we entered had already stopped serving food. It was only 9pm.
So in search for a restaurant we went. Already tired and hungry beyond measure, our moods were sinking along with our stomachs. We found a small Mediterranean restaurant in one of those dark alleys where we were served courtly and the food was delicious. We had pints of Murphy’s to welcome ourselves to Cork and all agreed that, surprisingly enough, Murphy’s tasted better than Guinness!!
After dinner we were all exhausted, but David wanted to have a pint in a proper pub.  Although I wasn’t really up for it I’m glad we all followed him into the tiny little pub playing rock ‘n roll, whose walls were covered in paraphernalia and memorabilia which can hardly be placed in one category. Pictures, record covers, balloons, dolls, t-shirts, key chains, coasters and other ‘stuff’ hung from the walls and ceiling. In places like these it’s hard keep your eyes from drifting off into some bizarre artefact you found on the wall amid all the other strange things. The fact that people in Cork speak with an unintelligible accent was also distracting: I found myself eavesdropping on many a conversation just trying to make out what was being said.
It was finally bedtime and although I had promised I would take a hot shower before bed I couldn’t muster the energy to do so. It would have to wait until morning. In the meantime I was going to snuggle up to an already asleep Ed and travel off to La La Land together.
 Authors:
Lucia & Eduardo
Avid Travellers and Guest Writers
"The Lady and the Drifter: Serenades from Nowhere"
Their Travel Blog: www.travelpod.com/members/zento.
Visit Ireland or read more about Ireland.
|
